The Transparency Facade: Pharma industry lobbying at the European Commission

The Commission’s online transparency of top level meetings only scratches the surface of much more extensive lobbying and industry contacts: Corporate Europe Observatory’s exclusive data reveals that the European Commission had up to ten times as many meetings with the pharmaceutical industry at unit level than at top level, in key Commission directorates. These included meetings with industry lobbies that haven’t signed up to the Transparency Register. The online disclosure of meetings with commissioners, their cabinets and directors-general shows the public only a slice of the truth, with the bulk of meetings still taking place out of sight and beyond scrutiny.